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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. LAFARGUE.

Steam Steering Apparatus. No. 243,450. Patented lune 28,1881.

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(No Model.)

.4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. LAFARGUE. Steam Steering Apparatus. No. 243,450.

Patented June 28,1881.

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4 Sheets-Sheet 3,

A. LAF'ARGUE.

Steam No. 243,450.

Steering Apparatus.

Patented .lune 28,1881.

(No Model.) v 4 Sheets-Sheet 4'.

A. LAPARGUE; Steam Steering Apparatus. No. 243,450. Patented June 28,1881.

UNITED 'STATES ALPHONSE LAFARGUE, OF KENSINGTON, COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND STEAM STEERING APPARATUS.

f SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 243,450, dated J une 28, 1881.

Application filed January 8, l1881. (No model.) Patented in England, No. 2,045 ot' 1877, and No..2,122 M1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALPHONSE LAFARGUE, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Kensington, in the county of Middlesex, England, engineer, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam Steering Apparatus, of which the following is a specitication, certain of said improvements being embraced in British Letters Patent No. 2,045 of 1877 and No. 2,122 of 1880.

This invention relates to improvements in hydraulic and steam apparatus for steering ships orotheroatingvessels; and my im provements are applicable to that class of steering apparatus in which a quick-threaded screw or spiral bolt is mounted on the rudder-head to actuate the rudder.

According to my present improvements I dispense with the use of au aeculnulator. For this purpose, in lieu of an accumulator, and in order to maintain the constant pressure previously derived from an accumulator, I pass the fluid direct from the pump through the governing-valve into the chambers above and beloW the piston, which moves up and down in the steering-gear or hydraulic cylinder, the piston being attached to the nut working or aetuating-the screw on the rudder-head. The upper chamber, above the piston, is of larger area than the chamber below the piston, by reason of the space occupied by the piston-rod. The `vertical thrust,whieh heretofore was allowed to -act on the rudder-head, is, according to another.

part of my improvements, prevented 4fromfso' acting on the rudder-head by-my improved apparatus being so constructed that it is sellcou-` tained in its own bed-plateand;` standard', be-

ing supported by means ot'ja"collar"'(fxed on the screw or spiral bolt) revolvin g between two disks or surfaces bolted or oth'erwise fastened together or forming parts of the-bed'pate and standard. 1. ,y Y.

Another part of my improvements c insists in forming the screw or spiral bolt oli-the rudderhead from a bar of metal having two'or more at surfaces, the bar being twisted to the re quired angle or pitch suitable'for tion to the rudder. Y According to another part ot `my improvements, I construct an automatic slidevalve for cutting off the supply of water to tle chamber above the piston. To accomplish this I em ancefwith my improvements; shows a side elevation, Fig. 5 an end view, and

ploy a cross-bar or lever having the center connected by a rod to a slide or other valve, one end ot' the lever being connected to the pistonrod of a small hydraulic cylinder, the other end being connected with the steering-wheel, handle, lever, or other mechanical arrn n gement for imparting motion to the valve. Any motion given to the slide-valve by the actuating wheel 0r lever will admit or discharge the Water or other duid to or from both the upper chamber o t the large steering-gear or hydraulic cylinder and the lower chamber ofthe small hydraulic cylinder above the valve at one and the same time, and on the actuating wheel or lever being again held steady at any point a contrary motion of the slide-valve is immediately brought into play, causing the center rod to alter its position and close the valve, thus leaving the position of the actuating wheel or lever to indicate the relative movement that has been given to the rudder. The pressure on the slidevalve is compensated for by connecting it with a piston workin g in a small hydraulic cylinder forming part of the valve-box.

In order that myinven'tion may be clearly understood andreadily ,carried into practice.I I will proceed Lto: describe thedrawin gs heretc annexed. 1i w L" In thedrawings,` Sheet 1, Figures 1 and 2 show vertical sections, dift'ering only in the arrangement-ot pipes and in the scale; and

Fig. 3, aplan, in section, of hydraulic steering apparatus arranged and constructed in accord- Fig. l, Sheet2A Fig. 6 a plan, of the general arrangement oi my improved hydraulic steering apparatus as applied to a ship or vessel. The location o; the hydraulic apparatus and the valve con trolling the action of the steerin g-gear may be fixed at any convenient part ot' the ship or ves sel that may be found desirable, whereas th( steeringgear can be fixed either directly abovt the rudder-head on the decir, as shown in th( drawings, Fig. 4, Sheet 2, or in some cases be low the deck, the rudder-head being continue( through the steering-cylinder to an ordinary tiller, if so required; or the steering-gear may be made to act on the rudder-head or tiller by means of a rack and pinion or some othei auxiliary mechanical arrangement. Also, Figs 7 and 8, Sheet 1, show the substitution ot z ed bar, b, of square section for the steerfear screw. The bar of metal to form the v or spiral bolt b may have two or more lurfaces and be twisted, formed, or cut to equired angle or pitch suitable for giving )n to the rudder. In this case loose ad- `ble brasses are placed inside the nut to the wear oft' the screw or spiral bolt.

e manner in which the hydraulic power is led to the rudder-head is as follows: Over rudder-head a there is a screw or spiral b, (with its collar b revolving between lisk's,) secured to the tller at the lower end leans ol a slip-ring, c, which enables the steering-gear to be instantly coupled or zhed, if desired. At the end of the hol- )iston-rod d a cross-head, e, is xed, which :s up and down in the guides f, and also as a nut, the threads of which correspond those of the screw b. The vertical action e cross-head by the pressure of water act- `,gainst the piston in the cylinder g imi a' reciprocating motion to the rudder, carrying the tiller to any point required. e actuating-piston h, with its hollow pisod d, is acted upon by the water as follows: pipe i, leading to the under side of the pisl, and marked constant pressure, is all open, as its name indicates, to the water r pressure, and in uninterrupted commu- '.ion with the source of supply, while the r side of the piston is, by means of aconng slide-valve, p, put in communication igh the upper pipe, i', with either the wander pressure or the exhaust. It will be that the area of the upper side of' thepisis considerably greater than that of the r side. It, therefore, the water under iure be admittednt'o the upper side of the n, the effect! "Willibeq, a downward move a of the piston-.lranlpiston-rod d, the ext water fromrft'h'eunder sideof the piston g forced at the same time into the upper uber, g, while if the pressure-isaremoved the upper side byropening' a communicawith the exhaust, the-constantwpressure the pump, still acting on* the'under` side e piston, will cause an upward movementy e piston h and rod d, and, as above-exed, motion will be imparted to the-rudo any extent desired.

ition motion produced bythe hydraulic pump, a small air-vessel is attached to :onvenient part of the line of hydraulic l, and by relieving the pressure, as red, prevents any jerking pulsation from g produced.

lief-valvesj and 7c are applied, as shown, se of a heavy sea striking the rudder. A cord, or a chain, Z, is carried in opposite tions from the tiller to communicate with dicator, m, which shows on a dial the act- Osition of the rudder or helm. double-acting spring-box is shown at a, 1 brings the steering-lever o always back to the center when released from the hand, thereby enabling the rudder to be fixed atany point of its movement when the automatic cutoff-valve apparatus is dispensed with.

The slide-valve 12, which governs the action of the steering-gear, is worked from the bridge or elsewhere by means of a lever, o, (wheel, handle, or otherwise,) connected therewith, and may be made to act automatically, as shown in detail on drawings, Sheets 3 andl, in which Figure l represents a front elevation with its slide and its cover removed; Fig.2, a sidcele vation with the exhaust-pipe in section; Fig. 8, a plan section through the upperport, which port is divided to communicate with the upper chamber of the steering-gear cylinder' and the lower chamber of the small hydraulic cylinder attached to the valve; Fig. 4, a general plan Fig. 5, a vertical section through thcsmallhydraulic cylinder and the pipes communicating with the valve; Fig. 6, a vertical section, showing the connection ofthe small hydraulic cylinder and its piston with the slide-valve.

The manner in which this slide-valve works automatically is as follows: In Fig. 6 the slidevalve is shown with the slide closing the upper port, which leads to the upper chamber,g, of the steering-gear cylindeigfFigs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, Sheet 1, and lower chamber of' the small hydraulic cylinder q, and to which the communicating pipes are lled with water. Thus, as the constant pressure is acting on the under side of the piston h in the steering-gear cylinder and the upper side ot' the piston r in the automatic hydraulic cylinder g1, an equilibrium is established, whereby the valve and the steering-gear, with the rudder, are all sta tionary for the time being. 0n raising the cross-bar or levers, with the central rod, t, at-

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tached to the valve, and holding the same steady, the upper port is putinto communica tion with the exhaust, andthe constant press^ ure forces the piston 1' downward, taking with it the rod t and valve, thus closing the upper port again. On lowering the levers and hohling the same steady, pressure is admitted to the under side ofthe small piston 1', which, be ing of a larger area than the upper side, be-

comesepressed upward, taking with it the rod -tK-and-valvaand thus closing the upper port lonce more.' lflhe@ portion of the valve -box hen necessary, in order to avoid any slight marked u contains the small piston for reducing the :pressure on the slide-valve face.

lht plug/ais for regulating the rate oi' ow to or ifrom thcllower chamber of the small hydraulic cylinder.'

The relief-valve, as shown at k, allows acommunicatioir between the constant pressure and the exhaust.. 2;..y

The above-described automatic action or arrangement of the valve can also be applied to a plunger-valveshould such modifications he preferredA Fig.1.7, Sheet 4, shows the vertical section o another crm of automatically-acting valve, which I use aslan equivalent for that above IIO described, and which I term au automatic equilibrium plunger-valve,77 which might, il' preferred, be adopted to control the steeringgear, instead ofthe slide-valve above described. It may be described as follows:

a is the pressure-pipe from the hydraulic force-pump g Z2, the constant-pressure pipe leading to the under side of the piston 7L, Figs. 1 and 2, Sheet 1.

cis the equilibrium plunger-valve, which, when raised, allows the pressure to communicate through the pipe to upper side of the piston h, (indicated, by a dotted circle.)

d is an ordinary drop-valve,which, on being raised, allows the pipe leading to the upper side of the piston h to communicate with the exhaust-pipe c, connected with the tank.

f is a relief-valve corresponding to la, as shown on the slide-valve, Fig. 5. The action of this valve is as follows: The vertical lever gis used to control the steering-gear, and when held over to the right or left (marked 1 and 2) raises the opposite valve d or c, respectively, by means of the balance-lever t, which t'astens underneath only the projections shown attached to the valve-spindles. On leaving hold of the vertical lever g, the valves will always return to their seatings automatically, by virtue of the springs shown contained in boxes surrounding the valve-spindles.

Fig. S is a vertical section of a modified arrangement of the automatic slide-valve (Figs. 1 to 6) previously described.

By giving a turn of the steering-wheel to raise the lever a, the slide-valve spindle b will also be raised, thereby admitting the water under pressure to enter the cylinder at c and force the piston d upward, causing the lever e to be depressed at f, together with the slidevalvespindle b, and thus close the slide-valve from the pressure entering the cylinder at c. The whole action of the hydraulic cylinder will then cease until further motion is imparted to the steering-wheel. If, on the other hand, a reverse action is required, the slide-valve will then have to be reversed by lowering the lever a, thereby opening the exhaust with the cylinder at c. The constantpressure, aetingon the top side of the piston d, will impart al downward motion.

The spring g is made to answer as a cushion for the piston d in case of undue pressure in the cylinder c, which would then be open to the exhaust by the depression of the slidevalve rod b.

Having thus described the nature of my improvements and the manner of performing or carrying the same into practice, I would remark that I do not claim, generally, the application of hydraulic apparatus to actuate the rudder-post and rudder for steering ships and other floating vessels; nor do I claim any of the mechanical parts separately, lwhich are well known, and which comprise the steering and other apparatus hereinbefore described, and shown in the drawings annexed.

I am also aware that it is old to construct a steam-engine with a trunk-piston, and to admit live steam upon the trunk side of said pist-on, which is of smaller area, and exhaust said steam to the cylinder upon the side of said piston which is of larger area, and I therefore do not claim such an engine as of my invention.

What I claim as of my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a hydraulic steering apparatus, the combination ofan actuating-cylinder and a piston the two sides ofwhich have different areas, a pipe for supplying liquid under pressure to the side of said piston of smaller area, in constant and uninterrupted communication with a source of supply, and a pipe leading to' said cylinder upon the opposite side of said piston and containing a valve, whereby the supply of liquid to said cylinder and the eX,-

haust of liquid therefrom may be controlled, substantially as herein specified.

2. In a hydraulic steering apparatus, the combination,with an upright cylinder and piston, and a standard and bed-plate supportin g the same, of a rudder-head, a spiral bolt having a xed collar, whereby it is held against end movement, and a sliding spiral nut actuated by said piston and tting said bolt, substantially as herein specified.

3. In a hydraulic steering apparatus, the combination of a hydraulic cylinder and piston, and a spiral nut actuated thereby, a rudder-head,and a spiral bolt fitting said nut, both said nut and bolt having two or more dat surfaces, substantially as herein specified.

4. The combination,with the cylinder g and piston h, having its two sides of different area, of the slide-valvep, the small hydraulic cylinder q and piston r, and the lever s, connected with said valve p and piston r, substantially as herein specified.

ALPHONSE LAFARGUE. Witnesses:

J. G. TONGUE,

34 Southampton Buildings, London, W. 0.

JOHN DEAN,

17 Gwtcechurch Street, London, E. O.

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